What’s It Like To Shave For The First Time As A Trans Guy?

Shaving company Harry’s partnered with men’s skincare site Very Good Light to give two young trans guys their first real shave: Cayden Carter and Tyler Vine, good friends who bonded over transitioning at the same time.

Harry's/A Very Good Light

Growing facial hair has felt like a “rite of passage,” Carter says, and while he’s shaved before, he’s on hand to help Vine with his first attempt.

“As a man, I totally feel like my confidence correlates to the way I shave,” Carter explains. “My first shave meant my first day of manhood. You correlate that with dads and how they shaved growing up. You get taught how to shave. When I was able to do it on my own, it really felt like a big turning out.”

“The shaving industry hasn’t changed in more than 100 years,” says Very Good Light in a statement. “With its advertisements that promote one single type of masculinity (usually white, straight, athletic, hypermasculine), it’s one of the least inclusive of industries. We want to change that. For an entire week, we at Very Good Light want to redefine what shaving could look like if the industry was more open to all types of guys. It’s our goal to completely shatter shaving’s traditional perceptions of masculinity with positive, culture-pushing stories from diverse communities.”